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Blue Mangoo Software Announces A New Release

Hans Anderson, director of Blue Mangoo Software and developer of iFretless Bass, a musical app for guitarists, believes that tablet computers like the iPad will soon replace musical instruments in live performances. And he’s got video to prove it.

iFretless isn’t the first app to offer users a chance to play guitar on the iPad. Most notably, apple’s GarageBand app – with its guitars, pianos and drums – has been a top seller in the music category for almost two years. What makes iFretless different is its playability.

As its creator explains: “Developers of music instrument apps think that what they are making isn’t going to be used seriously as an instrument. We think differently. When we find something about the interface is difficult to use, we change it.”

“Even after they’ve seen the videos on our website, people still don’t believe it,” continues Hans. “Our biggest challenge when we do marketing is convincing people that iFretless is real.” One doubtful viewer commented on an iFretless video: “It sounds great with the background music but what if we just hear it by itself?” Ironically, the song he was commenting about didn’t have a background track; It was all played on the iPad. That’s how real the sound is. Unlike Apple’s GarageBand, iFretless doesn’t look like a guitar.“Touch screens have a different size, shape, and a very different feel from that of a guitar neck. If you try to make an exact replica of a guitar on an iPhone, you will always fall short of your goal.” Instead of imitating the guitar, Anderson and his team looked for ways to use the touch screen to their advantage, enabling users to do things that would be impossible on other instruments. The most useful of these innovations is the ability to play sounds of thousands of non-guitar instruments via virtual MIDI. (MIDI is a standard system in the music industry, used for connecting keyboards, synthesizers and software and making them work together.)

There is a whole host of amazing synthesizer apps on the iOS app store. By connecting iFretless to other apps, users can get any sound they want out of iFretless. They can even connect it externally to a computer or electronic keyboard. In a review of iFretless, Bestbassgear.com’s eBass blog asked the quesion: “Will digital apps like this ever close the gap on live instruments?”

“iFretless is not trying to replace guitars” says Anderson, “We’re going to replace electronic keyboards. There are a lot of musicians who don’t play piano but still wish they could tap into the power of synthesizers. We made iFretless for those people.” But can an iPad app really compare a piano keyboard? Regardless of the recording quality, the saxophone always sounds fake when played on a keyboard. Keyboards don’t have good control over pitch and expression of each note. Anderson believes that touch screens offer a better alternative. Video Blogger Nick Trass comments: “It makes playing synths easier for us bass players, and definitely more expressive. Playing on a virtual fretboard will always feel more natural for me than a keyboard.”

Please visit Blue Mangoo Software’s website it has several videos of the app’s creators jamming to stevie wonder songs and some original music too.